Hey Mom, Dad and Lil' Bro!
38. A Dark Nest of Predators
“Hey Mom, Dad and Lil’ Bro, I… uhm… hope you are doing well. It might take a bit longer than we thought.
Just finished a couple things before we finally went back. Orah and Serwacy seemed to enjoy themselves a bit before the return. Gonna be likely a longer journey so I can understand if they want to relax a bit before it. Samson is nice enough to accompany us for this. Probably just wanted to get out of the court for a bit. I can understand that. Such a busy place. But I finally get to show the others more of Hallownest!
Well, that’s what I thought. We just arrived back and, of all places we could’ve landed, it was right in the lowest parts of Deepnest! I don’t want to be here! I heard of all the horror stories. Individuals getting snatched down here and never returning. I… may be a bit scared. Oh, who am I kidding. I lost my nerves down here! I don’t want to be down here! I Want To Get Out! I Want To Get Out! I Want Out! I WANT OUT! NOW!
I don’t want to end in the darkest pits down here! I hear creatures everywhere! Either everything is way too loud or there is not a single sound. And both make me worry! One of the creatures was hiding in the corpse of a common bug! Such a vile thing to do! There are garpedes digging holes around this place, all the walkable tunnels are way too cramped, most of them even have stalking beasts inside them. There was a single clearing so far where we could take a breather!
At least it’s a calm clearing. As calm as it can be down here. It has a hot spring and a bench and hole in the ceiling that Samson investig-... Wait. A bench! That means menderbugs must’ve maintained it! There has to be a path that leads back into the main kingdom! Maybe we aren’t as lost as I thought! Ok, maybe there is a chance. We got this!
Ah, but there is a small problem. Orah might’ve found her brother. She apparently saw him sprint down a tunnel and she swiftly took after him. I was able to catch up to her before she went too far in and halted her. I really don’t like the idea of splitting up down here. Orah was so eager to continue. I mean, I understand that she wants to reunite with him but I… didn’t see him there. I saw S- Ah, I just got a really bad feeling about this. The others quickly reached us. Thankfully.
I guess there was no arguing about it. Orah would’ve gone with or without us. And I’m not letting her wander through these tunnels alone. And curiosity did get the better of me. He couldn’t be down here. He should be with y- Uuh, right. So we chased after Orah’s brother. Down a… dark… tunnel. Oh, by the Pale King.
Took a bit of wandering but we did reach a pretty big chamber. It has uh… a bunch of bugs strung on the ceiling with silk. They are all… dead. This is a beast’s cave. And behind us the way closed as dark webs just suddenly appeared. A trap…
In the middle of the chamber, what I believe, was Orah’s brother. He let a high-pitched scream and then his head just… turned like a wheel. Out came these really thin, dark legs. It has a big, orange-glowing body and its head just hung off a long neck. Upside-down… I don’t think that was Orah’s brother… And whatever it is, it doesn’t like us. I added at the end what it looks like. It’s not the best caricature but I think it gets the idea across. Maybe you have seen it before? We… have to fight it. Shouldn’t have come here.
Uh, oh yeah. Can you also maybe ask Shen how he is doing? He might miss me or, y’know. Just want to make sure he is doing well. Love you all and wish us a safe return, Levee!”